A mother who underwent gastric bypass surgery has won a £35,000 payout after she claimed surgeons botched the operation.

Rachel Benefer, 28, weighed 23 stone, and resorted to surgery after struggling to lose weight because of health problems.

But following her keyhole surgery, doctors realised something was wrong, and she was rushed into intensive care before being placed in an induced coma.

Rachel Benefer, 28, won a £35,000 payout after a gastric bypass operation left her in a coma

It was claimed the surgeon had failed to close a small incision properly, and the mother-of-two spent five weeks in hospital, before undergoing a further two operations.

Mrs Benefer, from Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire, said: 'When I came out of the coma I couldn't walk, I was confused, I didn't know who anyone was and I was hallucinating.

'I kept asking my family what had happened and my memory is very patchy.'

Mrs Benefer had struggled to lose weight due to a back injury and being diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome, which affects the hormones and can cause weight gain.

After researching gastric bypass surgery she was turned down for funding and had to see a dietitian and psychologist for a year before she was allowed to have the operation.

She was referred to a surgeon at Hull Royal Infirmary and the operation was eventually funded by the NHS, but carried out at Hull and East Riding Classic Hospital.

Mrs Benefer with her husband Chris, and sons Jacob, 2, and newborn Aidan. She claims the surgeon failed to close a small incision properly after gastric bypass surgery, which resulted in her being admitted to intensive care

The procedure reduced the size of her stomach and meant she could eat only small portions of food. It initially appeared to have gone well.

'Everything seemed fine and I was discharged,' she said. 'But a few days later I was being sick and I was in agony.

'I was rushed to hospital and ended up in intensive care for two weeks and was later placed in an induced coma.'

It had been claimed the surgeon failed to suture one of the port entry sites used to insert the surgical instruments.

Rachel developed a hernia obstructing her small bowel, causing pressure which 'blew out' the stomach bypass.

She then had acute peritonitis, an inflammation of the membrane which lines the inside of the abdomen and all of the internal organs. She needed two further operations.

'I spent a total of 11 days on a ventilator and also underwent a tracheotomy,' she said. This where a hole is surgically created through the front of the neck and into the windpipe (trachea).

Mrs Benefer said: 'People think having a gastric bypass is an easy way out, but I had thought about it and had tried everything to lose weight, including hypnotherapy.

She said: 'People think having a gastric bypass is an easy way out, but I had tried everything to lose weight, including hypnotherapy'

'When I was at 23 stone I was just a mess, I was depressed and also stopped working as a carer because I couldn't get about, I became a recluse.

'Before I hit puberty I was extremely thin but then the weight just piled on, even though I often only ate one meal a day.

'My husband Chris has been by my side the whole time, we have been married for eight years and he loves me, no matter how much I weigh.'

She claims she has been left with a number of problems since the operation in 2007.

'I can't move my big toe on my left foot and often fall over,' she said.

'I have to use plastic plates because my hands seize up and I drop things, I'm even scared to be alone with my children.'

She has sons, Jacob, two, and Aidan, who is just over a week old.

'At one point I went down to seven stones and after having another baby I now weigh about ten stones ten pounds,' she said.

'People need to realise there can be complications, they need to research having a bypass and understand the risks involved.'

Danielle Barney, a lawyer at Bridge McFarland, said: 'This was a very painful experience for her and one that left her unable to work for a time and with an increased risk of serious long-term health problems.'

A spokesman for Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust said: 'I can confirm that we reached a settlement with this patient.

'They have previously lodged a formal complaint with the trust and we responded to them directly.'